[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2666 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 422
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2666
[Report No. 119-122]
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a
taskforce on unlawful robocalls, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2025
Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Welch, Mr. Husted, and Mr. Warnock)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
June 1, 2026
Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a
taskforce on unlawful robocalls, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Robocall
Elimination Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASKFORCE ON UNLAWFUL ROBOCALLS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the
Federal Communications Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Consortium.--The term ``Consortium'' means the
consortium described in section 13(d) of the Pallone-Thune
TRACED Act (Public Law 116-105).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency''
has the meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 551 of
title 5, United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Taskforce.--The term ``taskforce'' means the
taskforce on unlawful robocalls established under subsection
(b).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Unlawful robocall.--The term ``unlawful
robocall'' means a telephone call made in violation of
subsection (b) or (e) of section 227 of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Establishment.--Not later than 270 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Commission, after consultation with the
Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General, shall establish a
taskforce on unlawful robocalls.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Membership.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--The taskforce shall be composed
of the following members:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A)(i) A representative of each Federal
agency that the Chairman of the Commission, in
consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission and the Attorney General, considers
appropriate.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) With respect to each Federal agency
considered under clause (i) to be appropriate, the
Chairman of the Commission shall appoint a
representative of that Federal agency to the taskforce
based on the recommendations of the head of that
Federal agency.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Seven representatives of private
sector entities, to be appointed as described in
paragraph (2)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) 3 of whom shall be
representatives from private sector entities
with expertise in combating unlawful robocalls,
including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) voice service
providers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) analytics
providers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) technologists;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) technology
experts;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) 1 of whom shall be a
representative from the Consortium;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) 1 of whom shall be a
representative of a marketing business that
communicates with consumers by telephone as
part of the normal course of business of that
marketing business;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) 1 of whom shall be a
representative of a business or nonprofit
organization that communicates with consumers
by telephone for non-marketing purposes on a
regular basis; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) 1 of whom shall be a
representative of an organization that
advocates on behalf of customers and who has
relevant experience and expertise in combating
unlawful robocalls.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Appointment of representatives of private
sector entities.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any
provision of chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code,
the members of the taskforce described in paragraph
(1)(B) shall be jointly appointed by the Chairman of
the Commission, the Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission, and the Attorney General.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Inability to reach agreement.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) In general.--Subject to
clauses (ii) and (iii), if the Chairman of the
Commission, the Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission, and the Attorney General cannot
reach agreement regarding an appointment
described in subparagraph (A), as determined by
the Chairman of the Commission, the Chairman of
the Commission shall make that
appointment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) Notice of appointments.--Not
later than 48 hours before appointing a member
to the taskforce under clause (i), the Chairman
of the Commission shall provide notice of the
proposed appointment to the commissioners of
the Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) Request for vote.--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) In general.--Except as
provided in subclause (II), if, after
receiving notice under clause (ii) of a
proposed appointment under clause (i),
not fewer than 2 commissioners of the
Commission request that the proposed
appointment be subject to a vote of the
Commission, the Chairman of the
Commission may not make that
appointment unless a majority of the
commissioners of the Commission vote to
approve the appointment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) Inapplicability.--
Subclause (I) shall have no force or
effect during any period in which there
has been a vacancy with respect to a
position as commissioner of the
Commission for more than 180
days.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Report.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) In general.--The taskforce shall prepare a
report on unlawful robocalls, which shall contain
recommendations and advice for Federal agencies with
jurisdiction relevant to combating unlawful robocalls, and for
Congress, regarding the most effective ways to combat unlawful
robocalls made into the United States from outside the United
States.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Matters to be studied.--In preparing the
report required under paragraph (1), the taskforce shall--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) compare the estimated number of
suspected unlawful robocalls made within the United
States with the estimated number of unlawful robocalls
made into the United States from outside the United
States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) determine which foreign countries
serve as the foreign points of departure for the
highest volume of unlawful robocalls made into the
United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) determine the magnitude of financial
loss and the number of instances of stolen identity
that occur within the United States each year as a
result of unlawful robocalls made from outside the
United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) examine methods for encouraging the
adoption of caller identification authentication
technology in foreign countries;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) examine and provide information on
options for how countries can collaborate on solutions
to authenticate and verify international calls,
including relevant analytics relating to unlawful
robocalls and technical options that can be used with
respect to that authentication and
verification;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) examine how better implementation of
technical solutions, such as traceback and caller
identification authentication technology in foreign
originating countries, would improve coordination
between the United States and foreign countries in
combating unlawful robocalls;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (G) determine whether--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the technical standards
commonly known as ``STIR/SHAKEN'' adequately
provide call authentication for unlawful
robocalls from foreign originating providers or
foreign intermediate providers through gateway
providers in the United States; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) it would be desirable to
encourage other countries to adopt the
standards described in clause (i);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (H) determine if coordination with respect
to technologies and incentives to combat unlawful
robocalls placed from outside the United States into
the United States can help inform strategies to combat
potentially fraudulent, or otherwise unlawful, text
messages sent from persons outside the United States to
persons within the United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) examine ways to provide incentives to
foreign countries to cooperate with law enforcement
efforts in the United States to combat unlawful
robocalls;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (J) examine whether any Federal agency, or
any other organization, that combats unlawful robocalls
needs additional resources in order to more effectively
combat unlawful robocalls made into the United States
from outside the United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (K) specifically consider whether the
ability of the Attorney General to conduct enforcement
activities with respect to unlawful robocalls would be
increased through the establishment of an office within
the Department of Justice dedicated to those
enforcement activities;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (L) examine how increased criminal
penalties based on the volume of unlawful robocalls
could help prevent unlawful robocalls made into the
United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (M) examine how many enforcement
activities the Attorney General has undertaken in the
year preceding the date on which the preparation of the
report begins, including in response to referrals made
by the Commission;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (N) specifically determine how the
Attorney General has pursued forfeiture amounts in
enforcement activities with respect to unlawful
robocalls;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (O) seek input, as appropriate, from
technologists and private sector innovators to find
solutions for combating unlawful robocalls;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (P) identify a list of best practices
regarding the identification and blocking of unlawful
robocalls that telephone service providers and
providers of technology solutions can voluntarily
implement to improve the effectiveness of mitigating
unlawful robocalls made into the United States from
outside the United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Report to congress.--Not later than 360 days
after the date on which the taskforce is established under
subsection (b), the taskforce shall submit to Congress the
report prepared under this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Use of Funds.--Notwithstanding section 1346 of title
31, United States Code, funds made available by this or any other Act
to the Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Department of
Justice may be used by the applicable Federal agency for coordination
with, participation in, or recommendations involving the taskforce, as
required under this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Termination.--The taskforce shall terminate on the
date that is 90 days after the date on which the taskforce submits to
Congress the report prepared under subsection (d), as required under
paragraph (3) of that subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. FCC NOTICE PROVISION.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Section 13(d)(2) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public
Law 116-105) is amended by striking ``annually'' and inserting ``once
every 3 years''.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Robocall Elimination Act''.
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASKFORCE ON UNLAWFUL ROBOCALLS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(2) Consortium.--The term ``Consortium'' means the
consortium described in section 13(d) of the Pallone-Thune
TRACED Act (Public Law 116-105).
(3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 551 of title 5,
United States Code.
(4) Taskforce.--The term ``taskforce'' means the taskforce
on unlawful robocalls established under subsection (b).
(5) Unlawful robocall.--The term ``unlawful robocall''
means a telephone call made in violation of subsection (b) or
(e) of section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
227).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission, after consultation with the
Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General, shall establish a
taskforce on unlawful robocalls.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The taskforce shall be composed of the
following members:
(A)(i) A representative of each Federal agency that
the Chairman of the Commission, in consultation with
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the
Attorney General, considers appropriate.
(ii) With respect to each Federal agency considered
under clause (i) to be appropriate, the Chairman of the
Commission shall appoint a representative of that
Federal agency to the taskforce based on the
recommendations of the head of that Federal agency.
(B) Seven representatives of private sector
entities, to be appointed as described in paragraph
(2)--
(i) 3 of whom shall be representatives from
private sector entities with expertise in
combating unlawful robocalls, including--
(I) voice service providers;
(II) analytics providers;
(III) technologists; and
(IV) technology experts;
(ii) 1 of whom shall be a representative
from the Consortium;
(iii) 1 of whom shall be a representative
of a marketing business that communicates with
consumers by telephone as part of the normal
course of business of that marketing business;
(iv) 1 of whom shall be a representative of
a business or nonprofit organization that
communicates with consumers by telephone for
non-marketing purposes on a regular basis; and
(v) 1 of whom shall be a representative of
an organization that advocates on behalf of
customers and who has relevant experience and
expertise in combating unlawful robocalls.
(2) Appointment of representatives of private sector
entities.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any provision of
chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, the members
of the taskforce described in paragraph (1)(B) shall be
jointly appointed by the Chairman of the Commission,
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and the
Attorney General.
(B) Inability to reach agreement.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clauses (ii)
and (iii), if the Chairman of the Commission,
the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission,
and the Attorney General cannot reach agreement
regarding an appointment described in
subparagraph (A), as determined by the Chairman
of the Commission, the Chairman of the
Commission shall make that appointment.
(ii) Notice of appointments.--Not later
than 48 hours before appointing a member to the
taskforce under clause (i), the Chairman of the
Commission shall provide notice of the proposed
appointment to the commissioners of the
Commission.
(iii) Request for vote.--If, after
receiving notice under clause (ii) of a
proposed appointment under clause (i), a
commissioner of the Commission requests that
the proposed appointment be subject to a vote
of the Commission, the Chairman of the
Commission may not make that appointment unless
a majority of the commissioners of the
Commission vote to approve the appointment.
(d) Report.--
(1) In general.--The taskforce shall prepare a report on
unlawful robocalls, which shall contain recommendations and
advice for Federal agencies with jurisdiction relevant to
combating unlawful robocalls, and for Congress, regarding the
most effective ways to combat unlawful robocalls made into the
United States from outside the United States.
(2) Matters to be studied.--In preparing the report
required under paragraph (1), the taskforce shall--
(A) compare the estimated number of suspected
unlawful robocalls made within the United States with
the estimated number of unlawful robocalls made into
the United States from outside the United States;
(B) determine which foreign countries serve as the
foreign points of departure for the highest volume of
unlawful robocalls made into the United States;
(C) determine the magnitude of financial loss and
the number of instances of stolen identity that occur
within the United States each year as a result of
unlawful robocalls made from outside the United States;
(D) examine methods for encouraging the adoption of
caller identification authentication technology in
foreign countries;
(E) examine and provide information on options for
how countries can collaborate on solutions to
authenticate and verify international calls, including
relevant analytics relating to unlawful robocalls and
technical options that can be used with respect to that
authentication and verification;
(F) examine how better implementation of technical
solutions, such as traceback and caller identification
authentication technology in foreign originating
countries, would improve coordination between the
United States and foreign countries in combating
unlawful robocalls;
(G) determine whether--
(i) the technical standards commonly known
as ``STIR/SHAKEN'' adequately provide call
authentication for unlawful robocalls from
foreign originating providers or foreign
intermediate providers through gateway
providers in the United States; and
(ii) it would be desirable to encourage
other countries to adopt the standards
described in clause (i);
(H) examine ways to provide incentives to foreign
countries to cooperate with law enforcement efforts in
the United States to combat unlawful robocalls;
(I) examine whether any Federal agency, or any
other organization, that combats unlawful robocalls
needs additional resources in order to more effectively
combat unlawful robocalls made into the United States
from outside the United States;
(J) specifically consider whether the ability of
the Attorney General to conduct enforcement activities
with respect to unlawful robocalls would be increased
through the establishment of an office within the
Department of Justice dedicated to those enforcement
activities;
(K) examine how increased criminal penalties based
on the volume of unlawful robocalls could help prevent
unlawful robocalls made into the United States;
(L) examine how many enforcement activities the
Attorney General has undertaken in the year preceding
the date on which the preparation of the report begins,
including in response to referrals made by the
Commission;
(M) specifically determine how the Attorney General
has pursued forfeiture amounts in enforcement
activities with respect to unlawful robocalls;
(N) seek input, as appropriate, from technologists
and private sector innovators to find solutions for
combating unlawful robocalls;
(O) identify a list of best practices regarding the
identification and blocking of unlawful robocalls that
telephone service providers and providers of technology
solutions can voluntarily implement to improve the
effectiveness of mitigating unlawful robocalls made
into the United States from outside the United States;
(P) evaluate whether requiring periodic public
disclosure, in whole or in part, of the results of
trace backs conducted by the Consortium would impact
the integrity and effectiveness of the trace back
process of the Consortium, including by--
(i) revealing investigative methods;
(ii) allowing consumers and businesses to
avoid providers with a track record of making
unlawful robocalls;
(iii) exposing proprietary, competitively
sensitive, or confidential information of
legitimate providers or entities;
(iv) strengthening accountability and
deterrence;
(v) enabling the initiators of unlawful
robocalls to evade detection, adapt tactics, or
exploit system vulnerabilities;
(vi) improving the efforts of voice service
providers to block calls that are determined to
be unwanted based on reasonable analytics;
(vii) impeding cooperation with future law
enforcement investigations or future consumer
protection efforts; or
(viii) ensuring fairness in the reporting
of trace back information; and
(Q) examine mechanisms for improving compliance
with the requirements imposed pursuant to sections 6
and 7 of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (47 U.S.C. 227b-
1, 227 note).
(3) Report to congress.--Not later than 360 days after the
date on which the taskforce is established under subsection
(b), the taskforce shall submit to Congress the report prepared
under this subsection.
(e) Use of Funds.--Notwithstanding section 1346 of title 31, United
States Code, funds made available by this or any other Act to the
Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Department of Justice
may be used by the applicable Federal agency for coordination with,
participation in, or recommendations involving the taskforce, as
required under this section.
(f) Termination.--The taskforce shall terminate on the date that is
90 days after the date on which the taskforce submits to Congress the
report prepared under subsection (d), as required under paragraph (3)
of that subsection.
SEC. 3. FCC NOTICE PROVISION.
Section 13(d)(2) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law 116-
105) is amended by striking ``annually'' and inserting ``once every 3
years''.
SEC. 4. REGISTERED CONSORTIUM CONDUCTING PRIVATE-LED EFFORTS TO TRACE
BACK THE ORIGIN OF SUSPECTED UNLAWFUL ROBOCALLS.
(a) Immunity for Receiving, Sharing, and Publishing Trace Back
Information.--Section 13(d) of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law
116-105; 133 Stat. 3287) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Immunity for receiving, sharing, and publishing trace
back information.--
``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term
`covered information'--
``(i) means information regarding
suspected--
``(I) fraudulent, abusive, or
unlawful robocalls;
``(II) illegally spoofed calls; and
``(III) other illegal calls; and
``(ii) includes--
``(I) call detail records of calls
described in clause (i);
``(II) the names of, and other
identifying information concerning, the
voice service providers that
originated, carried, routed, and
transmitted calls described in clause
(i); and
``(III) information about the
entities that made calls described in
clause (i), including any contact
information of individuals that such an
entity provided to the voice service
provider that originated the call.
``(B) Trace back immunity.--No cause of action
shall lie or be maintained in any court against the
registered consortium for receiving, sharing, or
publishing covered information or information derived
from covered information.''.
(b) Publication of List of Voice Service Providers.--Section 13(e)
of the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act (Public Law 116-105; 133 Stat. 3287) is
amended to read as follows:
``(e) List of Voice Service Providers.--
``(1) Publication of list.--The Commission, or the
registered consortium in consultation with the Commission, may
publish a list of voice service providers based on--
``(A) information obtained by the consortium about
voice service providers that refuse to participate in
private-led efforts to trace back the origin of
suspected unlawful robocalls; and
``(B) other information the Commission or the
consortium may collect about voice service providers
that are found to originate or transmit substantial
amounts of unlawful robocalls.
``(2) Enforcement.--The Commission may take enforcement
action based on the information described in paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 5. ROBOCALL MITIGATION DATABASE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(2) Robocall mitigation database.--The term ``Robocall
Mitigation Database'' has the meaning given the term in section
64.6300 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor regulation.
(3) Unlawful robocall.--The term ``unlawful robocall'' has
the meaning given the term in section 2(a).
(b) Bond Requirement.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall issue rules to
require that, subject to the other provisions of this section,
before a provider may file a certification to the Robocall
Mitigation Database, the provider shall post a bond in an
amount that is not more than $100,000, if the Commission
determines that posting such a bond is necessary to preserve
the integrity of the Robocall Mitigation Database.
(2) Excepted providers.--
(A) In general.--In issuing rules under paragraph
(1), the Commission shall establish criteria to exempt
a provider from the requirement to post a bond
described in that paragraph if that requirement, as
applied to the provider, is not necessary to deter
unlawful robocall activity.
(B) Considerations.--In establishing criteria under
subparagraph (A), the Commission shall require
consideration of whether a provider--
(i) is registered with the Commission under
section 64.1195 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations (or any successor regulation) and
makes contributions under section 254(d) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d));
(ii) holds a certificate of authority,
license, or registration with a State public
utility commission;
(iii) is an issuer, the securities of which
are listed on a national securities exchange;
and
(iv) otherwise presents indicia of being a
bona fide, established communications service
provider, such that requiring the provider to
post a bond under paragraph (1) would impose
unnecessary burdens without materially
improving enforcement of section 227 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227).
(c) Implementation.--In implementing this section, the Commission
shall--
(1) require the posting of a bond under subsection (b)(1)
from providers that do not demonstrate--
(A) legitimate, ongoing operations;
(B) regulatory oversight sufficient to ensure
accountability; or
(C) the ability to pay fines or forfeitures imposed
by the Commission or other governmental enforcement
authorities with respect to violations of Federal or
State laws or regulations;
(2) establish categorical exemptions for identifiable
classes of legitimate providers that satisfy the criteria
established under subsection (b)(2); and
(3) minimize administrative and financial burdens on
compliant, established, and regulated providers while ensuring
effective enforcement of section 227 of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227).
Calendar No. 422
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2666
[Report No. 119-122]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a
taskforce on unlawful robocalls, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 1, 2026
Reported with an amendment